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Hi! I'm back

I'm back and I actually have very good news. Though, illogically enough, even the good news has me feeling frustrated and rather embarrassed.

After ten days on the seizure ward, the doctors finally decided that I don't have epilepsy but a combination of very strange and severe migraine headaches, and bad reaction to the anti-convulsant drugs I'd been put on. I'd been taking these medications for years! I've been referred to a different specialist for the migraines, don't know when/what to expect though.

Welcome home, and I am very happy to hear your news. Medicine is more an art than a science so often, and sometimes the 'cure' turns out to be the disease.

If you do not know it, you should read this book on Migraine, and their connection to a mystical frame of mind, by Oliver Sacks (the famous neurologist who, among other things, was featured in the movie 'Awakenings' with Robert Diniro).

The many manifestations of migraine can vary dramatically from one patient to another, even within the same patient at different times. Among the most compelling and perplexing of these symptoms are the strange visual hallucinations and distortions of space, time, and body image which migraineurs sometimes experience. Portrayals of these uncanny states have found their way into many works of art, from the heavenly visions of Hildegard von Bingen to Alice in Wonderland. Dr. Oliver Sacks argues that migraine cannot be understood simply as an illness, but must be viewed as a complex condition with a unique role to play in each individual's life.

After ten days on the seizure ward, the doctors finally decided that I don't have epilepsy but a combination of very strange and severe migraine headaches, and bad reaction to the anti-convulsant drugs I'd been put on. I'd been taking these medications for years! I've been referred to a different specialist for the migraines, don't know when/what to expect though.

Whew. Yikes. Well, goodluck with the new specialist. Good to see your Back.

My cousin, (a Doctor) once told me that Doctors "practice" medicine. If they were good they would not need to practice!

Welcome to the migraine club :wink:
I have "hot dog" headaches which is basically a nitrate induced migraine.
As long as I watch what I eat and drink I am usually fine. But I slip up every now and then and pay the price.

But I know there are all kinds of migraines, some are more easy to avoid than others.

I'm back

I'm back

Hellos and a hug to you, Paige!!
Good to see you here again. Your name has come up in a couple of comments (Sanghas, sanghas everywhere for one)
Isn't it fascinating--these medical re-interpretations--Drs love good medical puzzles--you may end up in an abstract!!

Congrats, sort of. I know that the side effects of anti-epileptics can be quite something. It's kind of strange, though, that you were given those meds without a firm diagnosis - generally, they don't give them to people unless they have had multiple seizures.

Migraines can be a pain - I don't have them, but I get similar headaches. Do know, however, that there are some pretty good meds to stave them off.

Re: I'm back

Originally Posted by kirkmc

Congrats, sort of. I know that the side effects of anti-epileptics can be quite something. It's kind of strange, though, that you were given those meds without a firm diagnosis - generally, they don't give them to people unless they have had multiple seizures.

I was diagnosed with migraines, years ago when I initially started having these problems (it was a migraine dr who suggested I start meditation). But after I had very bad convulsions under general anaesthetic, the doctors decided that the migraines were complex partial seizures. And now they've changed their minds again....